Come Home
by kishiswriting
Summary: Ten years after the fall of the wall, Shion ruminates on meeting Nezumil.


**Come Home**

_Lyrics are from the song "Come Home" by One Republic. I do not own it nor the characters of No. 6. _

****_  
>Hello world<br>Hope you're listening  
>Forgive me if I'm young<br>For speaking out of turn_

__I still remember the first time I met Nezumi. He looked so frail - his hair long and shabby; his body thin. He was trembling beneath his tattered colds from both the rain and from the pain in his arm. However, despite the vulnerability of the young Nezumi I saw that stormy night, his eyes were absolutely alive - the burning desire to survive embedded in those beautiful black orbs.

_There's someone I've been missing  
>I think that they could be the better half of me<em>

I, on the other hand, had stood there by the window, screaming my lungs out to feel something; to fill myself with a burning desire to live. It was that desire that drew me to Nezumi early on; something I couldn't let go.

_They're in the wrong place trying to make it right  
>But I'm tired of justifying to make it right, so I say to you<em>

Looking back, I realized that Nezumi, even as a child, was hopelessly desperate. I couldn't comprehend that. I had no idea what it was like to watch helplessly as strangers burned your family, to run for your life, and to escape the fury of people you do not know.

_Come home, come home  
>Cause I've been waiting for you<br>For so long, for so long_

For a very young child, Nezumi already experienced hell while I lived a comfortable life with a loving mother by my side at Chronos. I had no idea how he managed to survived it at all. His brokenness was buried well beneath his wit, his strong facade, and his smile. That charming smile drew me to him. He was a wild flower.

_Come home, come home  
>Cause I've been waiting for you<br>For so long, for so long_

I could still vividly recall the first night he spent in my room. I tended his wound and fed him. It was the first time I heard him laugh even though I didn't understand why he was laughing at me. He laid his body on my side and slept cautiously while I slept beside him; a stranger, feeling the warmth of his body without any inhibition.

_Right now there's war between the vanities  
>But all I see is you and me<br>The fight for you is all I've ever known  
>So come home<em>

He was reluctant that night, only clinging to me out of survival instinct, but my naivety couldn't see that before. I couldn't see how broken he was until the day he left me. That day, I felt like I would never be the same anymore without him. He was my better half. I woke up the next day and Nezumi was gone, away with my towel, my plaid shirt, and my emergency kit.

_I get lost in the beauty of everything I see  
>The world ain't half as blood as they paint it to be<em>

After four years, Nezumi returned and I had never been so free in my life. I was saved by Nezumi and was forced to leave No. 6 and my mother. My life was constantly in danger, but I was with him. The days I spent with him in our little home were too precious for me. I learned about Shakespeare and Faust. I played with his pet rats. I met Inukashi and Rikiga, too. I learned how to dance and Nezumi and I danced our troubles away.

_If all the sons, all the daughters stopped to take it in  
>Well hopefully the hate subsides and the love can begin<em>

It was the first time I kissed someone too. It was a happy time - a dangerous time - but with Nezumi by my side, I couldn't care less. I realized then that what I lost (privileges, education, and luxurious life) were nothing compared to what I had gained. I gained Nezumi.

_It might start now  
>Well maybe I'm just dreaming out loud until then<em>

I knew that Nezumi was a little prickly. He always belittled me for my lack of understanding of the world. I asked him too many question that would sometime result to him losing his cool over me. He would laugh at me most of the time - that scornful, cold laugh. Until now, I wouldn't mind it all. I wanted to hear his laughter.

_Come home, come home  
>Cause I've been waiting for you<br>For so long, so long_

I wanted to hear his voice again. All I wanted was to be with Nezumi again. Despite the arrogance, mischief, and irritability, Nezumi was the only one who would be patient enough to listen, comfort, and save me from this dreadful feeling of loss. Yet I had lost him.

_Right now, there's war between vanities  
>But all I see is you and me<em>

_The fight of you is all I've ever known  
>Ever known, so come home<em>

The day the wall crumbled was the day that he left me. I remembered the wall collapsing and the fire swallowing parts of the city. I remembered the sky painted a bright red while we stood there, face to face, as we kissed. Up to this point, even after ten years, I believed that it was not a goodbye kiss. If it was, then he wouldn't return, right? Nezumi was not the type to break his promises. He promised me that we would meet again someday.

_Everything I can't be  
>Is everything you should be<br>That's why I need you here_

The first time I lost Nezumi, I survived with only memories from the one night we were together. After four years, for the second time, I lost him again and the loss was far more painful than the first one. I understood where he was coming from - which was why I could never hate him for leaving me. He was lost and he had nowhere to go. Partly, it was my fault that pushed him to go beyond the walls of No. 6 and beyond my reach. I never gave him a concrete answer.

_Everything I can't be  
>Is everything you should be<br>That's why I need you here  
>So here this now<em>

During those time, I couldn't choose between No. 6 and Nezumi. I thought of a third option would be beneficial for both of us, but that not enough for Nezumi. It was not the answer he wanted to hear from me. It was my fault why he couldn't completely trust me. I had my mother waiting for me and, at one point, Safu was also waiting for me. But Nezumi had no one to return to. It would be ambitious to claim this, but I could have been that one for him. I could be the person he wanted to return to - his home, his only family.

_Come home, come home  
>Cause I've been waiting for so long, so long<em>

I was slow to realize this and it was already too late. He had gone far away. I was so upfront when people tried to insult or threaten my Nezumi, always ready to kill them as a punishment for hurting Nezumi. But maybe, I was also hurting him. I often wondered if he performed in other cities as Eve. How lucky those people were to hear his angelic voice. I missed it. I missed my Nezumi so much.

_Right now there's a war between vanities  
>But all I see is you and me<br>The fight of you is all I've ever known  
>Ever known <em>

I completely understood my mistake and that's why, every night, I leave my windows open as I wait for him to come back. To come back home.

_So come home  
>Come home<em>


End file.
